This week on Road to the Tour, presented by Hilton, we follow Alissa Xu and Michelle Xing, two rising stars from Richmond Hill, Ontario. Today the two golfers are on Team Canada NextGen, but don’t be surprised if one day both are playing pro golf on the top tours in the world.

Rest and Relax like a Pro, start planning your next stay with Hilton today.

The 61st playing of the national championship features a field 156 golfers competing for the senior title along with a super senior division and an inter-provincial team competition

Pemberton, B.C. – The 2023 Canadian Men’s Senior Championship, presented by BDO is set for September 5-8 with a field of 156 amateur golfers competing over four rounds at Big Sky Golf Club in Pemberton, B.C.

The field competing for the John Ranking Memorial Trophy includes defending champion Rusty Strawn of McDonagh, Ga. along with seven of the most recent winners—Darren Ritchie (2021), Gene Elliott (2019, 2017), Brady Exber (2018), Jack Hall (2015), Doug Roxburgh (2014) and David Schultz (2013).

“We are very excited to be back at another Robert Cupp designed course for the Canadian Men’s Senior Championship. As one of the premier golf destinations in British Columbia, Big Sky Golf Club will present a tough, but incredibly enjoyable challenge to our field of Canadian and International Senior amateurs.,” said Sam Brown, Tournament Director, Golf Canada. “Having hosted numerous provincial championships, I am looking forward to working with the staff at the club as they host their very first National Championship. It is shaping up to be a great week, both on and off the course in Pemberton.”

Big Sky was designed by Robert Cupp and opened in 1994, earning the runner-up spot as best new course in Canada by Golf Digest magazine. Cupp uses a southern style course design that includes wide bent-grass fairways surrounded by dense bluegrass rough, fescue and water hazards lurking on every hole with demanding second shots. Green complexes are surrounded by false edges that feed into hollows and swales that are closely mown to give players unlimited options to be creative in the short game.

“We are excited for the upcoming week. We have hosted a variety of provincial amateur championships and championships of the Pacific Northwest, but never a national championship,” said Corry Butler, Director of Golf, Big Sky Golf Club. “We look forward to hosting a great field of senior championship competitors and the test that Big Sky will present them.”

The Canadian Men’s Senior Championship was established in 1962 for golfers aged 55-and-over and includes a Super Senior division for golfers 65-and-over that was introduced in 1995. The national championship consists of 72 holes of stroke-play with a cut after 36 holes. The Super Senior Championship is contested concurrently over the four rounds of the championship. In addition, the Senior Inter-Provincial Team Championship was added in 1977 and runs concurrently through the first 36 holes of the tournament.

Practice rounds are scheduled for Monday, September 4, and the tournament gets underway on Tuesday, September 5.

The champion will receive an exemption into the 2024 U.S. Senior Amateur Championship.

For the full player field competing in the Canadian Men’s Senior Championship, presented by BDO, please click here.

GOLF CANADA AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIPS

Golf Canada annually conducts more than 30 golf competitions and qualifiers nation-wide – including nine National Amateur Championships – which play host to more than 3,000 domestic and international athletes from all corners of the world. In partnership with our host clubs, thousands of volunteers, provincial golf associations and our proud sponsors, Golf Canada is dedicated to supporting player development through world-class competition since our inception in 1895. Officiated by certified Canadian Rules of Golf officials, Golf Canada’s amateur competitions are fully compliant with golf’s international governing bodies and include marquee events such as the Canadian Men’s and Women’s Amateur Championships as well as the Canadian Junior Girls and Junior Boys Championships. Golf Canada’s amateur championships are proudly supported by BDO Canada, Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC), Titleist, FootJoy, Sport Canada, Levelwear and JOURNIE Rewards. For more information and scheduling visit www.golfcanada.ca/championships.

Woodstock, P.EI. – The second round of the 2023 Canadian Women’s Senior Championship, presented by BDO concluded on Thursday at Mill River Golf Resort with Team Ontario emerging as inter-provincial team champions.

Team Ontario ran away with the lead to win the 36-hole inter-provincial team competition with an impressive 14-stroke victory over runner-up Team British Columbia. Terrill Samuel of Etobicoke, Ont., Mary-Ann Hayward of St. Thomas, Ont., and Judith Kyrinis of Thornhill, Ont., shot a collective 13-over for Team Ontario to earn the team championship.

Team British Columbia consisting of Shelly Stouffer of Nanoose Bay, B.C., Jackie Little of Procter, B.C, and Sandra Turbide of Maple Ridge, B.C., shot 27-over to place second with Team Quebec finishing third.

In the individual competition, two-time winner of the Canadian Women’s Senior, Judith Kyrinis is tied with Canadian Golf Hall of Famer and three-time Canadian Women’s Senior Champion Mary-Ann Haward for the lead. Kyrinis shot a 7-over 79 in today’s second round, while Hayward shot a 4-over 76 to both sit at 7-over heading into Friday’s final round.

In the 65-and-over Super Senior Championship division, which runs concurrently throughout the tournament, Hayward remains at the top of the leaderboard heading into the final day. Amy Ellertson of Free Union, Va., is second after shooting an 8-over 80 during round two and is 10-over, three shots back of Hayward.

Following the conclusion of todays round, the field was reduced to the low 70 players and ties, based off the Senior division. A minimum of five Super Seniors made the cut and anyone within ten shorts of the Super Senior leader.

The champion of the 2023 Canadian Women’s Senior Competition will earn exemptions into the 2023 U.S. Women’s Senior Amateur Championship, 2024 Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship, 2024 Canadian Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship and the 2024 U.S. Women’s Senior Open.

For the full leaderboard, please click here.

GOLF CANADA AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIPS

Golf Canada annually conducts more than 30 golf competitions and qualifiers nation-wide – including nine National Amateur Championships – which play host to more than 3,000 domestic and international athletes from all corners of the world. In partnership with our host clubs, thousands of volunteers, provincial golf associations and our proud sponsors, Golf Canada is dedicated to supporting player development through world-class competition since our inception in 1895. Officiated by certified Canadian Rules of Golf officials, Golf Canada’s amateur competitions are fully compliant with golf’s international governing bodies and include marquee events such as the Canadian Men’s and Women’s Amateur Championships as well as the Canadian Junior Girls and Junior Boys Championships. Golf Canada’s amateur championships are proudly supported by BDO Canada, Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC), Titleist, FootJoy, Sport Canada, Levelwear and JOURNIE Rewards. For more information and scheduling visit www.golfcanada.ca/championships.

Etienne Papineau is in the home stretch.

There are two events left on the PGA Tour Canada schedule and Papineau sits third in the Fortinet Cup standings, the top-ranked Canadian on the third-tier tour.

If he can hold on to his spot, he’ll be promoted to the Korn Ferry Tour. If Papineau can move up to the top spot, he’ll also earn an exemption into the RBC Canadian Open.

“It’s part of my goals to move up,” Papineau said Wednesday from Brainerd, Minn. “Obviously, I want to get to the PGA Tour, but if I can get on the Korn Ferry Tour next year, that will be a definitely a big step up.

“I’ve been working for that for a long time. It would definitely mean a lot and it would be definitely a big step in my career.”

Papineau, from Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., is one of several Canadians in the field for this week’s CRMC Championship at Craguns Legacy Course in Minnesota.

Vancouver’s Stuart Macdonald is fourth on the PGA Tour Canada’s standings and also in a strong position to advance his career.

The tour’s season wraps up next week at the Fortinet Cup Championship on the Talons course at Calgary’s Country Hills Golf Club.

Papineau has earned 944 points this season, thanks to two top-10 finishes including a win at the Royal Beach Victoria Open on June 18.

He’s 266 points behind American Sam Choi, the overall points leader on the PGA Tour Canada.

“I think just being really consistent over the summer has been great for me,” said Papineau. “I think that’s why I’ve had good performances.

“We’re just trying to keep it going.”

Surprisingly, Papineau also credits a couple of off-season injuries for his success. He took several months off to heal his foot and his knee before returning to play in March.

He said that the forced rest was helpful for him with the grind of a professional golf season.

“I think that helped me reset back to zero and start all over again,” said Papineau, who works with Golf Canada’s men’s coach Derek Ingram and University of Montreal coach Pierre Dugas. “When I got back to it, we created a good game plan with my coaches, and I’ve been following it.”

GRANT THORNTON INVITAITONAL – Canada’s Brooke Henderson and Corey Conners will be partners at the Grant Thornton Invitational, a unique event that will have players from the LPGA and PGA Tours compete together in a co-sanctioned tournament for equal prize money of US$4 million. They both represented Canada at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. The Grant Thornton Invitational is Dec. 4-10 in Naples, Fla.

LPGA TOUR – Henderson, from Smiths Falls, Ont., and Maddie Szeryk of London, Ont., are in the field at this week’s Portland Classic. Henderson tied for 13th at the CPKC Women’s Open in Vancouver on Sunday to move her up to eighth in the LPGA Tour’s rankings. Szeryk missed the cut in Vancouver, dropping to 91st in the standings.

Woodstock, P.E.I., – Mill River Golf Resort proved to be a solid test for the top competitors from Canada and the United States with only one golfer out of a field of 131 finishing with an even par 72 after Wednesday’s opening round at the 2023 Canadian Women’s Senior Championship, presented by BDO.

Judith Kyrinis, two-time winner of the Canadian Women’s Senior and this year’s Canadian Women’s Mid-Amateur Champion, finds herself atop the leaderboard after round one. Kyrinis, of Thornhill, Ont. carded a total of five birdies for the day and made two double bogeys on the front.

Amy Ellertson of Free Union, Va., shot a two-over 74 to sit in second place after round one. Ellertson carded three birdies and is two strokes behind Kyrinis.

Team Ontario’s Mary-Ann Hayward of St. Thomas, Ont., carded a total of two birdies to sit in third place at 3-over after round one.

There is a two-way tie for fourth place, all three players are four strokes behind Kyrinis and a three-way tie for sixth all five strokes behind the leader.

Defending champion Shelly Stouffer of Nanoose Bay, BC., sits tied for fourth place at 4-over heading into round two.

In the Super Senior division Ellertson holds the lead at 2-over with Hayward one-shot behind in second place and Rhonda Orr of Winnipeg, sits in third after shooting a 4-over 76 on Wednesday.

Following the conclusion of round two, the field will be reduced to the low 70 players and ties, based off the Senior division. A minimum of five Super Seniors will make the cut and anyone within ten shorts of the Super Senior leader.

Team Ontario consisting of Terrill Samuel of Etobicoke, Ont., Hayward and Kyrinis hold a six-stroke advantage in the Inter-Provincial Team Championship over British Columbia. Kyrinis and Hayward’s scores contributed to the total team score of 3-over par from play on Wednesday.

The champion of the 2023 Canadian Women’s Senior Competition will earn exemptions into the 2023 U.S. Women’s Senior Amateur Championship, 2024 Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship, 2024 Canadian Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship and the 2024 U.S. Women’s Senior Open.

For the full leaderboard, please click here.

GOLF CANADA AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIPS

Golf Canada annually conducts more than 30 golf competitions and qualifiers nation-wide – including nine National Amateur Championships – which play host to more than 3,000 domestic and international athletes from all corners of the world. In partnership with our host clubs, thousands of volunteers, provincial golf associations and our proud sponsors, Golf Canada is dedicated to supporting player development through world-class competition since our inception in 1895. Officiated by certified Canadian Rules of Golf officials, Golf Canada’s amateur competitions are fully compliant with golf’s international governing bodies and include marquee events such as the Canadian Men’s and Women’s Amateur Championships as well as the Canadian Junior Girls and Junior Boys Championships. Golf Canada’s amateur championships are proudly supported by BDO Canada, Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC), Titleist, FootJoy, Sport Canada, Levelwear and JOURNIE Rewards. For more information and scheduling visit www.golfcanada.ca/championships.

Portland, Ore. – Judith Kyrinis continues to enjoy a very successful season. This past weekend, Kyrinis was the lowest amateur in the 2023 U.S. Senior Women’s Open, finishing T6 at 2-over. 

This marks the best amateur finish since Martha Leach’s T-10 record finish. Kyrinis’ ball striking was consistent; she hit 46 out of 52 fairways, leading her to be T2 for fairways hit amongst the field. She shot 74-73-72-71 and was one of five players to shoot under par in the final round. Not far behind her, fellow Canadian Terrill Samuel finished T9 at 5-over.

This year’s 2023 U.S Senior Women’s Open took place at Waverley Country Club, a course familiar to Kyrinis, as she won the 2017 Women’s Senior Amateur on the same course.

She finds the course to be a pretty special place, “I have always said that. I obviously have very good memories here, and they flooded back once I got on the property. I just love it here.”

Her season has been going tremendously well, with two wins under her belt at the Canadian Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship and the Golf Ontario Women’s Senior Championship. She also achieved Top 5 finishes at the Golf Ontario Women’s Match Play and the Doherty Senior Women’s Amateur Championship.

This week, Kyrinis will be competing in the 2023 Canadian Women’s Senior Championship at the Mill River Golf Resort in Woodstock, P.E.I. She is a two-time winner of the national championship having won in 2019 and 2016.

Woodstock, P.E.I. – One hundred and thirty-one of Canada’s top senior-aged golfers will descend on Mill River Golf Resort., from Aug. 29- Sept 1 for the playing of the Canadian Women’s Senior Championship, presented by BDO.

The Canadian Women’s Senior Championship will consist of 54 holes of stroke-play with a cut after 36 holes. Players over 50 are eligible to compete in the Senior Championship and those 60 and over will compete for the Super Senior title.

After 36 holes the field will be reduced to the low 70 players and ties, based off the Senior division. A minimum of five Super Seniors will make the cut and anyone within ten shorts of the Super Senior leader.

An event previously combined with the Canadian Women’s Mid-Amateur competition, the Canadian Women’s Senior Championship will be conducted as a stand-alone championship.

A practice round will be conducted Tuesday, August 29^th prior to the championship’s opening round on Wednesday, August 30.

“We are thrilled to be hosting the Canadian Women’s Senior Championship at Mill River Resort as a stand-alone event for the first time in recent history,” said Golf Canada Tournament Director Daniel Suppa. We are excited to have competitors from Canada and the United States showcase their skills at a great venue here in Atlantic Canada. Golf Canada’s Amateur Championships and more specifically, the Canadian Women’s Senior Championship wouldn’t be possible without the support of the host club committee, volunteers, and national partners.”

Shelly Stouffer of Nanoose Bay, BC., won last year’s Senior Division by one stroke over Terrill Samuel of Etobicoke, Ont., who won the Super Senior Division. Stouffer and Samuel will return this year to try and defend their titles. Also competing is two-time winner Judith Kyrinis of Thornhill, Ont., fresh off a T6 finish at last week’s USGA Senior Open Championship.

Constructed between 1969-1970 under the direction of Robbie Robinson, the well-established Mill River Golf Resort features 18 unforgettable holes that cater to both high and low handicap players. Its expansive, rolling fairways, bunkered greens and water elements combine to present a premier championship experience. Between 1992-1996, Graham Cooke designed multiple changes to the course including six new greens at holes 2,3,4,5,6, and 17.

“Hosting a National Championship is something that doesn’t happen very often, so we are very excited to have the opportunity to work with Golf Canada,” said Sean Joyce, Director of Golf at Mill River. “Mill River is proud to have the best players from across the country here in our corner of the province enjoying our resort and golf course, we wish them all the best this week.”

An inter-provincial team championship will be played in conjunction with the first 36 holes of the competition, with three-player teams vying for the inter-provincial title. Team British Columbia including Shelly Stouffer, Jackie Little, and Sandra Turbide won last year’s title.

Conducted since 1971, the Canadian Women’s Senior Championship has featured the country’s most accomplished senior golfers including Canadian Golf Hall of Fame members Marlene Streit, Gayle Borthwick, Marilyn O’Connor and Margaret Todd who all own senior championship titles.

The champion of the 2023 Canadian Women’s Senior Competition will earn exemptions into the 2023 U.S Women’s Senior Amateur Championship, 2024 Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship, 2024 Canadian Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship and the 2024 U.S Women’s Senior Open.

For more information click here

VANCOUVER – It took 19 holes for Megan Khang to win her first-ever LPGA Tour title.

The American beat South Korea’s Jin Young Ko in a one-hole playoff on Sunday at the CPKC Women’s Open.

Khang had a three-shot lead heading into the fourth round but her 2-over day and Ko’s 3-under round led to a playoff with both players at 9 under.

Ko’s drive went wide left and into deep rough to start the playoff, with marshals having to part hundreds of spectators so she could have a clear path out of the woods. Her punch out landed in a greenside bunker, while Khang moved straight up the 18th fairway.

Although Khang’s chip onto the green rolled to the edge, she made her long par putt while Ko double bogeyed the hole.

Brooke Henderson (68) of Smiths Falls, Ont., was the low Canadian, tying for 13th at 2 under. Hamilton’s Alena Sharp (68) tied for 36th at 3 over.

Sunday’s final round was the third-straight day with an air quality advisory in the metro Vancouver area. Smoke from ongoing wildfires in British Columbia’s Interior region hung over Vancouver, obscuring views of nearby mountains.

That advisory included the area surrounding Shaughnessy Golf and Country Club but its course remained relatively clear of smoke due to strong winds off the nearby Fraser River.

VANCOUVER – The fans at the CPKC Women’s Open don’t care, Brooke Henderson is still their favourite.

Henderson, from Smiths Falls, Ont., was greeted with cheers or chants at every hole around Shaughnessy Golf and Country Club on Sunday as she put together a 4-under 68 round to improve her overall score at the Canadian women’s championship to 2 under.

Disappointed with her performance at the only LPGA Tour event in Canada, Henderson said she was buoyed by the chants of “Let’s go Brooke!” or the impromptu renditions of “O Canada!” that followed her around the course.

“It’s phenomenal. Just the love, support, all the people that came out to watch,” said a smiling Henderson. “They didn’t really care what I was shooting, which was also really nice, they were just happy to be out here watching.”

Henderson finished the Women’s Open 75-68-75-68, an up-and-down scorecard that was a microcosm of her roller-coaster year.

She started the LPGA Tour season with a victory at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions on Jan. 19 and has had three top-20 finishes since. That includes a tie for 15th at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship on June 22, a 12th-place finish at the U.S Women’s Open on July 6 and second at The Amundi Evian Championship on July 27.

But she missed the cut at the other three events in July and August that led up to this week in Vancouver.

“I think overall when things start to slip a little bit you can panic, and I feel like I’ve done that a little bit this year,” said Henderson, who entered the week 11th in the Race to CME Globe standings, but is projected to move up to eighth on the LPGA Tour rankings on Monday.

“I’m trending in the right direction _ I’ve been saying that a lot, too, _ but I really am.”

Hamilton’s Alena Sharp, the other Canadian who made the cut, had her best round of the tournament on Sunday. She shot a 4-under 68 in her fourth round to finish at 3 over.

“I’ve still got to keep learning as a veteran, and today I went out and just wanted to have fun,” said Sharp, who competed in the national championship for the 18th time. “Yesterday I walked off and I know I didn’t have a lot of fun. I let the golf course get to me.”

Sharp has spent most of her season on the Epson Tour and sits ninth on the second-tier circuit’s money list. Sharp said it’s encouraging that she can still compete with the best the LPGA Tour has to offer as she targets a return to the highest level of women’s golf next season.

“I know I still have it to play out here,” said the 42-year-old Sharp. “A sloppy two rounds, but two really good rounds on a really tough golf course.

“Looking forward to a week off and then five weeks in a row to hopefully get my LPGA Tour card.”

Henderson and Sharp were two of the 15 Canadians entered in the Women’s Open, with 10 of those players still amateurs. Although most of them missed the cut, Golf Canada chief sport officer Kevin Blue said it was an opportunity for the next generation of Canadian players to challenge themselves.

“Being uncomfortable is good,” said Blue on Wednesday. “Ask somebody trying to win a tournament down the stretch. They’re not comfortable. The whole point is to get uncomfortable in golf.

“Our players are definitely going to experience the good parts of that in the next couple of days.”

Calgary’s Earl Grey Golf Club will host the July 22-28 CPKC Women’s Open next year.

VANCOUVER – Struggling through her round, Brooke Henderson found some solace looking at the leaderboard, as most of the field at the CPKC Women’s Open was having a tough time with Shaughnessy Golf and Country Club.

Henderson, from Smiths Falls, Ont., grinded out a 3-over round to sit in a tie for 34th at 2 over on Saturday at the Canadian women’s golf championship. A double bogey on the par-4 14th hole was the ugliest blemish on her scorecard, but she took heart a couple of holes later.

“It was disappointing that I let some shots slip away, but looking at the leaderboard on No. 16 I was relieved because everyone else seemed to be having some trouble too, so that made me feel a little bit better about myself,” said Henderson, who then birdied the par-4 16th hole. “Just trying to take some positives out of the day.

“Obviously, not what I was looking for, but hopefully I’ll go out tomorrow and make some birdies.”

Henderson was still processing the round when she spoke with reporters by the scoring tent off the 18th green. Despite her struggles, the fans’ support of the top-ranked Canadian in professional golf remained unwavering.

Some spectators sang “O Canada!” at the 17th hole and a loud ovation ushered her up to the 18th green.

“I feel like I’m a little bit upset with how my game is right now,” said Henderson. “I’m also proud that I’m out here, playing the weekend, and with how things have been, I’m just grateful to be out here with all the love and support from all the fans.

“They made me feel a lot better about myself walking up 18. There is so much love here and that really means a lot to me.”

Although most of the field struggled on Saturday, the two players atop the leaderboard did not.

Megan Khang of the United States had birdies on four of her final five holes to hold on to her second-round lead. She finished at 4-under 68 to move to 11-under overall.

“Honestly, I’m relieved that the day is over,” said Khang. “It was kind of like you look at the leaderboard and you know who is behind you and you try to ignore it as much as you can, but it’s scary.”

The four birdies on Khang’s back nine were necessary to fend off hard-charging Sei Young Kim of South Korea. Kim had two eagles, including a hole-in-one, in a 5-under 67 round to sit in second two shots back of Khang.

She said that she decided to be aggressive after a Shaughnessy member told her during the pro-am that the key to the challenging course was to go for it when the green was reachable.

“(No. 14) especially, we get advantage from the tee shot,” said Kim. “It’s just reachable from the tee shot to the green, 250 metres to the pin, so I hit just driver.”

Hamilton’s Alena Sharp (78) is the only other Canadian in the field. She finished the day with a group tied for 62nd at 7 over after a 6-over day.

Although she was frustrated by her round, Sharp still had some fun at No. 17 _ a hockey-themed feature hole dubbed The Rink _ by donning a Vancouver Canucks jersey as she played. In last year’s tournament at Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club, the diehard Maple Leafs fan pulled on a Toronto sweater at The Rink to a very mixed reaction.

Things went better for Sharp at Shaughnessy, with spectators banging on the boards to show their approval of the Canucks sweater. She pulled up the sleeves of the jersey for her chip on to the green and then sank a par putt.

“When I was trying to chip the logo was brushing my arms so I tucked it into the back and I actually hit a good chip,” said Sharp. “(Caddie and wife Sarah Bowman) said ‘you should wear that for the rest of the round.”’